Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, spoke to the Phil about how we must always seek the truth, not assume we know everything, and listen. Her wittiness and unfathomable knowledge, had the audience immediately warming to her.
Albright was presented with the society’s Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage.
Most of the speakers that come to the Phil have no knowledge of Trinity, but Albright opened her speech speaking about George Berkeley and later of the diversity we are privileged to be surrounded by here in the College. She went on from there, speaking about how students should seize the opportunities around them to grow and learn, but at the same time use our “opinions to start discussions, not end them”, presumably in reference to the trend towards “safe spaces” and limiting the discussions on certain issues which may offend on college campuses. She told the audience to listen to those they didn’t agree with – because that’s where we learn about others. “I listen to right-wing radio, it makes me so mad”, she said.
Albright’s speech highlighted the global issues surrounding us, from US election campaigns, to the issue of the refugee crisis. In response to a question about the crisis, Albright said that “people need to be more generous in welcoming others”, and that she wished the US would take more refugees. “I really am quite shocked at how ungenerous the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are. It’s important for us to see the common humanity.”
The former Secretary of State advised that world leaders must “forget the past in order to achieve peace in the future”. Giving an example of her time involved with the peace talks in the Middle East, Albright spoke how despite the unresolved issue at hand, the Arabs and Israelis came to an understanding: “After hours of talks, they developed a respect for each other’s people, prayed for each other’s families, and understood why they were opponents.”
Though Albright is an influential and inspirational figure in her own right, it was interesting to see who she found inspirational – so she spoke of how inspired she was by Nelson Mandela’s attitude to his imprisonment, a description which the audience would have undoubtedly felt was very moving. She believes that we all have something to learn from how Mandela dealt with the situation.
Albright looked forward to the questions from the audience stating: “Now that I’m no longer in the government, I can actually answer them.” Despite the humour in her tone, the questions revolved largely around the US elections, and the concerns surrounding the global population leaning toward right-wing governments.
Albright recently sparked controversy for saying that “there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other”, in relation to the support that Bernie Sanders receives from younger women. She later did not apologise for the remarks, but said that they had been taken out of context. In response to a question about the same topic, Albright today said that she “did not understand” why young women were not connecting with Clinton, saying she was the most qualified candidate the US has seen in the last few elections.
Albright was also asked about Ireland’s eighth amendment. “I make it a point of not interfering with domestic affairs of other countries”, she said, “but the key word for women is choice. We should be able to make decisions about our own bodies.”
Overall, the audience undoubtedly benefitted from Albright’s sassy delivery of explanations and answers about her experience and knowledge, something that made her seem all-knowing, but friendly.
